Israeli court orders release of detained Palestinian academic Bilal Shalash over lack of evidence

An Israeli military court on Monday ordered the unconditional release of Palestinian historian and researcher Bilal Shalash, 38, citing a lack of evidence to justify the vague security allegations brought against him by Israeli intelligence and prosecutors.

Shalash, a researcher at the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, was arrested on 2 April from his home in the Ain Misbah neighbourhood of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. He had been held for over three weeks in Moskobiya prison in occupied Jerusalem.

"This was his third detention extension hearing," said attorney Khaled Mahajneh, who told The New Arab's Arabic language edition, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that prosecutors had failed to present any substantive evidence linking Shalash to the allegation of "undermining regional security" - a broad accusation often used by Israeli authorities in detaining Palestinians.

"The court had previously given the prosecution a final chance to substantiate its claims. Today, the judge directly challenged Israeli intelligence to clarify their position in the case," Mahajneh added.

Following a short recess, the judge ruled in favour of Shalash's release without bail, rejecting the prosecution’s last-minute attempts to impose financial conditions or restrictions.

"This decision eliminates the threat of placing Shalash under administrative detention," Mahajneh explained, referring to the widespread Israeli policy of detaining Palestinians without trial or charge, often based on secret evidence.

Shalash is expected to be freed within hours through one of Israel's military checkpoints.

A native of Shaqba, west of Ramallah, and a resident of the city, Shalash is a historian and writer known for his work on documenting Palestinian history and the Israeli occupation.

He holds a BA in Journalism and Media and two master’s degrees from Birzeit University - one in Arab and Islamic history (2015) and another in Israeli studies (2018). That same year, he was awarded the Elias Khoury Prize for Excellence and Creativity.

His arrest sparked outcry among academics and rights groups, who decried the use of arbitrary detention to silence intellectual and scholarly work on Palestine.

As of April 2025, Israeli authorities are holding approximately 3,498 Palestinians without charge or trial under administrative detention orders, according to the prisoner rights group Addameer.​